Friday, December 12, 2008

Well, wouldn't you know the advantages of the curious gardener! I was snooping around the web for a few minutes looking for more perennial veg to add to our garden...andlooky here what I found:

"Kudzu - PuerariamontanalobataKudzu has long been cultivated as staple food in Japan and China. The roots are up to 1.5 metres long, starchy and rich in carbohydrates. A very nutritious and versatile food, they can be eaten cooked, made into noodles, used in soups or as a thickener. They are rich in iron, calcium, potassium and zinc, dried root powder measures 21.8% protein. The plant has a very extensive root system and is useful for erosion control. Can be grown in cooler regions where top growth is killed by winter frosts.

Disadvantages: This plant illustrates the care that should be taken introducing non-native perennials. A shade tolerant extremely vigorous plant that has become an infamous weed in warm climates, especially the Southern USA, where it spreads quickly and is almost impossible to eradicate. "

Can YOU believe it??? Of all things, edibles growing right in front of our noses!

This info was taken from PrimalSeeds.org...check it out they have tons of neat info on underappreciatedvegs.

HOLA!

If you only see one posting and want to see updated entries just click hereand you'll parachute into the home page. Thanks!

"I am a pessimistic about the human race because it is too ingenious for its own good. Our approach to nature is to beat it into submission. We would stand a better chance of survival if we accommodated ourselves to this planet & viewed it appreciatively instead of skeptically & dictatorially."

E. B. White

WHERE?Central Florida. Orlando area. Zone 9B-ish.

WHO?Two people crazy about all things outdoorsy.One doing most of the planting, writing and pic taking.The other lovingly supporting this typer's addiction in every conceivable way.

Plants I will not love again

**To see pics and additional info go to the top left of the blog and type the plant's name in the "search blog" box**

♠ Bolivian Sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia). Lovely IF you have the space for a gigantic shrub.♠ Mexican Petunia (Ruellia brittoniana)...weedy!♠ White Buttercup- Pic posted on June 6. Lovely but becomes very weedy in the end.♠ Spider plant...in pots it is okay, but when planted on the ground...oh boy, talk about weedy!♠ Potato vine, the regular fast spreading ground cover sold in stores. Impossible to ever get rid of!

SEEDS FOR TRADE

The list is always changing...if you'd like seeds for any of the plants you see here just ask, chances are I either have some now or will gather some soon.Just post a comment and that will trigger an email to me. Blogger does not automatically trigger an email to you with my response so you'd have to come back and check it...a little work, I know, but so worth it, no? ☺

COOL BOOKS

The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt

The Myth of Mental Illness, Thomas S. Szasz

Zen & The Art of Motorcycle maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig

Wine & War, Don & Petie Kladstrup

The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran

From Beirut to Jerusalem, Thomas Friedman

Questioning the Millennium, Stephen Jay Gould

The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen Jay Gould

Siddharta, Hermann Hesse

The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong

The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson

Neither Here Nor There, Bill Bryson

The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson

How the Mind Works, Steven Pinker

The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker

Toxic Psychiatry, Breggin

Care of the Soul, Thomas Moore

Modern Man in Search of a Soul, C.G. Jung

The Journey to the East, Hermann Hesse

How Proust Can Change Your Life, Alain de Botton

Status Anxiety, Alain de Botton

On Love, Alain de Botton

Kiss & Tell, Alain de Botton

The Romantic Movement, Alain de Botton

The Consolations of Philosophy, Alain de Botton

Proust Was a Neuroscientist, Jonah Lehrer

On Being Certain-Believing You Are Right Even When You Are Not, Robert A. Burton